Being able to retire in my mid-50's:

As I get closer to retirement in my mid-50's, people ask me how I got to this point. How can you do this? There are several choices that I have made over the years, but some stand out more than others.

Best choice for planning retirement in my early 40's: Buying a used car instead of new.

Around my 40th birthday, I realized after years of living paycheck to paycheck that the only way out of this cycle was to NOT have a car payment! The people I work with are constantly congratulating others after their latest new car purchase. I had to learn to no longer follow this trend! I had followed my coworkers' love of constantly having newer cars and had to find a way to break out of this cycle!